By Herb Borkland<\/p>\n
This romance between martial arts and enlightenment is a global clich\u00e9. Philosophic boxers wander through the world\u2019s imagination. Kung-fu cinema stars flying Zen monks whose\u00a0chi<\/em>\u00a0can knock down walls. Anime is full of spry and spiritual old warriors; and even Bodhidharma \u2014 smaller but staff-bearing and wearing his Shaolin robe \u2014 becomes Yoda in outer space.<\/span><\/p>\n Is there any truth behind these legends? Or are temple supermen, to China, what leprechauns are to Ireland?<\/span><\/p>\n Black belts shrug and half believe. At one level, martial artists deal in nothing but miracles. Ask any boy. We put our hands through cinder blocks. To spiritual seekers, however, the ideal of martial\u00a0satori<\/em>\u00a0is sad and repulsive. Perfecting physical harm cannot possibly debouch into sublime peace like a river into the sea.<\/span><\/p>\n Well, why not? Intuitively, there is a certain chiming consonance here. Every day of History chronicles warfare somewhere \u2014 martial arts perpetually in action. And any behavior so profoundly typical of our species may be said to share in that mysterious transcendence which forever haunts the human possibility.<\/span><\/p>\n Moreover, martial artists can point to at least one 20th century fighting master whose spiritual awakening seems proof that such a blend of bliss and brutality is indeed possible, not Once Upon a Time in China, but here and now. The extraordinary life and career of Morihei Ueshiba will be the subject of the next couple-three posts. I think even non-martial artists will\u00a0be fascinated by the great man Japan calls\u00a0O-Sensei<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n Morihei Ueshiba \u2014 Modern martial enlightenment\u00a0irrefutably demonstrated<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n